Observing Lent often means fasting from a pleasurable food or drink, and that can be a very good thing to do. But keeping a holy Lent requires self-examination and amendment of life recommitted to once more following the Way of Love. A helpful guide to what that way is found in patient, reflective reading of The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The next several Country Parson columns will explore what that might look like.
It begins with the Beatitudes. Jesus said that blessed are the poor (in spirit), those who mourn, the meek (powerless), those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, peacemakers, and those who suffer persecution for following the Way of Love. If these are whom God in Christ Jesus has singled out for particular blessings, then to follow Jesus is to be agents of blessing to them in all we say and do. But who are “them,” and what does it mean to be a blessing to them?
For starters, “them” is us, you, me, and others whom we encounter along the way. It is also all who are marginalized by society. It’s not the same thing as being attentive to the needs of the less fortunate because that too often invokes hubris that denies the ways in which we, you and I, are among the less fortunate.
For us to participate with God in blessing others, we cannot do things for the other unless we are with the other. We are more comfortable doing things to and for the other, keeping them at some distance. It protects us from recognizing our own neediness and powerlessness. To be with them is to surrender illusions and be open to receiving from them the blessings we need. Blessings are conferred in concrete form when they begin with honoring the dignity of the other, regardless of condition in life. It’s what enables us to share with them what we have to offer and be open to receiving from them what they have to offer. Money, goods, and advocacy can then become true blessings and not just charity.
Jesus said to follow in this way makes us the salt of the earth. It means we will have become an element essential to life itself. In American slang, it also means to be a person of courage on whom others can rely. It’s saltiness that can be lost when it’s taken for granted as something that is ours by right. In truth, it is ours only when we, by giving up ourselves to follow Christ, not only with our lips but also in our lives by serving him in all we do.
Then, Jesus said, our lights will so shine that others will see our good deeds and give glory not to us but to our Father in heaven. It’s easy to say it doesn’t matter who gets the credit, but it’s natural to want our share and maybe a bit more. Following Jesus moves us to let whatever good we do point always to God, not to us.